Actress-mogul Jessica Alba expands her Honest Company empire to include skin care and beauty products
Actress and Honest Company founder Jessica Alba opened a six-month pop-up shop at the Grove in late September, highlighting the launch of her latest entrepreneurial venture: Honest Beauty, a collection of 82 skin care and beauty products made with natural ingredients such as aloe vera, chamomile and calendula.
The store’s vibe is breezy and fresh, with nods to California’s outdoor lifestyle, including light-colored decor and Amanda McCauley’s botanical illustrations in floral and organic materials.
Alba’s makeup credo is, “Makeup is all about fun, fantasy and the freedom to express yourself.” So the space is packed with enough go-ahead-and-play, try-it-for-yourself makeup displays to appease the most hardcore beauty junkies. Prices range from about $10 to $34, and a portion of sales goes to help support Girls Who Code, an organization dedicated to inspiring and educating girls in the fields of computer science and technology.
Alba herself welcomed us to the store to discuss the new line, which joins the Honest Company’s roster of non-toxic household cleaners, personal care and baby products. The 34-year-old was a vision in a crisp, white Jorya dress, sleek bob and makeup that stayed flawless despite the scorching midday heat — making for a terrific, walking advertisement for the brand.
How important is it that Honest Beauty provide “uncomplicated” skin care regime options for consumers and why?
We made it really easy for people to shop the line based on their skin care needs…We used aloe in a lot of our formulations because it’s something my grandmother used to put on me when I was a kid and I lived with my grandma. There’s so much thrown at you it’s nice to have something that’s simple, easy and quick, especially since I have multiple jobs and I’m also a mom so I find that my time is precious. I feel like every woman feels that way. So, as much as I can, I want to make her life easier and give her something that’s going to work, going to last and going to make her feel as great as she wants to.
You’ve mentioned you think a healthy, balanced complexion is the foundation of beauty. Which three or four products are the essentials in your skin care line?
You need to cleanse, you need to hydrate and you need to protect so we have core products in different categories. So some people need oil-free, some people need something that’s a little more intense, some people want a more balanced and even skin tone. You can get Beauty “Bundles” delivered [via discounted subscriptions] to your door, offered at a great price.
You’ve also talked about diversity and your brand’s color range appealing to a wide range of skin colors as being important. Did you personally ever have an issue finding the right makeup, the right foundation, for your skin tone and why is this an important beauty commerce issue?
Yes, absolutely. I think diversity should have always been important. Now I’m at the point in my life where I can create my own brand, Honest Beauty, and we can represent and celebrate women in all of her different shades. On the website you see all different kinds of women represented in the shade range we launched — with our tinted moisturizers, and our foundations and our concealers. It’s a really nice range representing women of color and also women with fair tones. I’m really proud of the range and I think it’s really cool for a new brand to launch like that.
Honest Beauty products are made without parabens, phthalates, formaldehyde carriers and synthetic fragrances. Why is this important to you?
It’s about having safe and effective ingredients.
When doing research for your beauty brand, what did women crave the most?
Me-time. Women are really busy…
Honest Beauty at the Grove, 189 The Grove Drive, Los Angeles, www.honestbeauty.com
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